Abstract [en]

Voice onset time (VOT) is a temporal acoustic parameter, which reflects the timing of speech motor control. VOT is said to be the most reliable acoustic cue of whether a plosive is voiceless or voiced.

The aim of the present study was to investigate and compare VOT among Swedish children (8, 9, 10, 11 years) and adults to examine the development of VOT and to obtain Swedish normative data. Audio recordings were performed on 150 children and 36 adults when pronouncing the Swedish plosives in minimal pairs. Acoustic analyses were then carried out.

The results indicated that the voiceless plosives seemed to be produced with adult like VOT-values around the age of nine. The voiced plosives in turn, appeared to be produced with adult like values at approximately ten years of age. By the age of ten, also prevoicing was found in a fully adult like extent. Though, the results indicate that not all Swedish adults produce voiced plosives with prevoicing. No evident gender differences were found.

The normative data for VOT that have been obtained in the present study can be used as normative data when assessing children with speech disorders.